vbox 1.5.6 crashes on boot after RHAS3 32bit installation

Description

I installed RHAS3 (kernel 2.4.21-50 SMP) VMusinv vbox 1.5.6. The installation went fine and all, but as soon as the OS booted from /boot, it went into GURU_MEDITATION state :) and crashed. I personally thought the icon of a Vedic Rishi meditating was very interesting, as it is from my culture.

Interestingly, SLES9 and Ubuntu installs and subsequent restarts went through fine with vbox 1.5.6.